The Nuclear Puppets
by Frankie-ester
Summary: Bella Swan is an ordindary girl who meets the pop band from England, The Nuclear Puppets. They're cool, they're famous, they're talented. She becomes friends with them, but then something happens... E&B All Human
1. Introduction

**Hi. This is my first fanfic story so please help me out by giving me some advice. Thank-you. Hope you enjoy it!**

Introduction

I finally found the book I'd been looking for. My fingers held the book by its' spine and I took it off the shelf and made my way to the counter of the Waverley library. I took my wallet out of my bag and flipped through the numerous cards until I found my library card. I joined the queue with my stack of books in one hand and my library card in the other. Something tapped my shoulder and I turned around to face my brother Jacob.

"Is that _all_, Bella?" He asked, his dark brown eyes eyeing my stack of books.

"Yes Jacob. That's all," I replied.

"You haven't forgotten one, have you?" His eyebrows raised and a grin appeared on his face.

Was this a hint? Had he eyed my stack of books that quickly? I tried to visualise my checklist; 14 books. I counted the books in my stack; only 13. Think, Bella, think.

"Oh. I've forgotten _The Black Angel_! Thanks Jacob!" I hugged him and he extended out his arms. I gave him the stack of books and ran to the young adult fiction section.

The warm air from the fan heater blew in my face. It was a chilly, wet day in Sydney; perfect for reading.

"Hey Bella, do you like this song?" Jacob asked suddenly turning up the volume on his car stereo. It was a hip-hop track, one I could not recognise. I had never heard Jacob listen to this song before, but I wasn't really into hip-hop to recognise the song anyway. I was more a jazzy type of person - Glen Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong; that type of thing. Hip-hop was for people that dance at discos, not me.

"Hip-hop's not my thing, Jacob. You know that. Do you like it though?" I returned the question, turning my face to look at him. The second I did, I felt motion sickness coming towards me at great speeds. I turned back to look at the road, much better.

"Yeah. It's cool. It fully rocks dude! I'm really bad at acting gangster style, I know, but this song is good!" He said, and I could see from the corner of my eye, that he was bopping his head to the beat.

I couldn't wait to get my own car. I could drive anywhere I wanted to, go to the library much more often and listen to the music I preferred. My seventeen-year-old brother continued to listen to his hip-hop music all the way home.

The rest of my weekend was spent reading and studying for my trig test. It was Monday morning that changed my life forever.


	2. Chapter 1 homeroom

**Hello again! Thank-you to all of you who had the time to read the "Introduction"! I REALLY appreciate it! Okay, so here's the first chapter. I hope you like it! I'd like to mention a special thank-you to "Imagination Lover", who added this story to their list of favourite stories. Thank-you!**

**This is my first fanfic, so I hope I'll improve as I go on...**

**PLEASE REMEMBER: I do not own anything that belongs to the author of Twilight, especially the characters. The other characters are just in my imagination, and any relation to a non-fictional character is purely coincidental. **

Chapter one - Homeroom

The sunlight sneaked through the edges of my blinds and the sound of melodic whistling emerged from the door. I did not want to go to school today. I had gone to sleep late last night due to book-wormitis, and I WAS TIRED!! Why did school have to start so early? Couldn't we begin at ten am instead of eight?

I sat up in my bed and checked the time on my alarm clock; 6.31am. For some reason, unknown to me, my alarm clock would show the time yet it would not set off the alarm - useless piece of junk. I pulled the covers off my body and got out of bed. The bedroom door seemed so far away, but I finally reached it. I dragged my feet along the wooden floors in the hallway and went down the stairs. The whistling got louder.

"Morning Bella," Jacob greeted me in a bear hug.

"Can't – breathe!" I managed to squeeze out. He released me and muffled my hair.

"Has Charlie left for work already?" I asked him.

"Yeah, he left 10 minutes ago. He wishes you a good day at school," He responded. He turned around to grab a buttered toast. His hair was really messy this morning. Luckily I had chopped his hair a few weeks ago, or he'd have a bee's nest on his head this morning.

Jacob grabbed the cereal packet and threw it in my direction. I caught it with both hands, placed it on the table and went to get myself a bowl, spoon and milk. The breakfast cereal was tasteless this morning. It took me ten minutes to eat 3 spoonfuls.

"Come on Bella. Hurry up! Shove your breakfast down quickly. I've got to go to school early today. Miss Bradlen said there's some new celebrity family coming to our school today and she wants me to help her get the canteen looking schmick. Oh, come on Bella!" Jacob had a worried look on his face…as if the world was about to end. He continued to shove his own breakfast down his throat.

"Celebrity family? What type of celebrity family comes here?" I asked him.

"A very, very wealthy one," He looked at me like I was stupid. "Woo-hoo Bella. We don't live in Forks anymore, remember? We m –o –v –e –d last year. This is Sydney we live in now. Yes, we're talking 'bout Sydney. Forks is a small, cute town and Sydney is a huge, rich city," He seemed frustrated now – frustrated that I'd forgotten we lived in Sydney. I mean, who could forget they lived in SYDNEY?!

Me.

Jacob parked his Nissan Pulsar in his usual spot and was in a rush to get out. The second I closed my door, he had already pressed the auto door lock from his remote key.

"See you around Bella! Have a good day!" he yelled as he ran towards the canteen.

What was I going to do now? I had half an hour to kill and I had nothing to do. I pulled out my mp3 player from my skirt pocket and listened to some jazz. I made my way to find my friends.

Josephine's diamond watch shined and glistened and made me want to turn away and head in the other direction. But these were my friends, and a diamond watch would not win over them.

"How was your weekend, Bella?" asked Jonathan.

"Let me guess! You went to the library and borrowed some books?" Alex butted in, all proud of herself.

"Yeah." I was sick of Alex. "That's pretty much it."

Alex wasn't one of my kindest friends. She always wanted to make herself look good – visually and mentally. Jonathan on the other hand was funny, smart and friendly. He always wanted our group of friends to be happy. He was one of my closest friends and if I needed something, Jonathan would always be there.

I took a seat next to Josephine who had her nose in a magazine. Josephine was a quiet person and she was not included in Alex and Jonathan's conversation this morning.

The canteen was starting to fill up with juniors and seniors. Alex and Jonathan talked about random things. Like Josephine, I wasn't really listening to the conversation as I had my mp3 plugged in one ear so I would still have the chance to hear the bell ring.

But then, the conversation changed. There were lots of smiles on Alex and Jonathan's faces, so I decided to tune in.

"That family are also a rock band," Alex mentioned.

"Really? Wow." Jonathan was not surprised Alex knew all the gossip.

"Is this the famous fam-" I started to ask but got interrupted.

"The Cullen family; yes. They're the family arriving today – here at our school," Alex told me. She was upset that I wasn't part of the conversation and that I had missed half of it.

"What's their rock band called, Alex?" Jonathan curiously asked. It looked like he wanted Alex to stop looking at me like I was a criminal.

"Um," She turned her face towards Jonathan and removed her dagger eyes from my view. "Nuclear Puppets."

"Sounds like a heavy metal band name to me," I said. Crap, I shouldn't have said that – Alex whipped her face in my direction, locked her eyes in mine and made a face like she was set to kill. Oops!

"Well, it's not," she spat bitterly. "They make pop songs too. Really good stuff, it is. Best thing since sliced bread."

Wow, Alex really liked this band. I wondered why she was so addicted, but it didn't take long to get my answer.

"Oh, and there's this really cute guy in the band called Edward." A smile stretched across her face. I had never seen Alex like this before - she must really like this guy! "He's my favourite! I can't wait to meet him! And plus, he's single!" Her voice broke at that last bit.

That'd be right. Alex actually liked the band because of Edward. Edward – what a weird name.

Jonathan looked at me, pointed his head in the direction of Alex and rolled his eyes. I let a little giggle slip out. Oops! But thankfully, Alex thought she was receiving a slight giggle because I thought it was sweet. WRONG!

"What instrument does he play in the band?" Josephine suddenly asked. We all turned to look at her.

Josephine was my other friend. She had been the kindest girl to me. She wasn't full of herself and we got along really well. Apart from Jonathan and Sam (another friend. He was late today), Josie and I did everything together. I liked everything about Josie, apart from her diamond watch. It was _way_ too shiny.

"Edward sings and plays the keyboard. Multi-talented!" Alex replied.

"Cool," Jonathan added.

The bell suddenly rang and we walked towards homeroom. I was in the same homeroom as Sam and Alex so I had to walk along with Alex. She continued chattering about Edward and the Nuclear Puppets. I was not listening so I just _mmm_'d and _ahh_'d at the right places so that she wouldn't feel like killing me again.

We walked into the full room and Sam greeted us.

"Hey Bella, hey Alex! We've got parade today. Something about new students…?" Sam was joyful this morning, though that was not unusual for Sam.

"Why were you late this morning Sam? We deserve an explanation," I said.

"Well, it's a long story. The long and the short is that my sister wouldn't get out of the shower. Anyway, do you know who the new family is?" Sam asked me. Luckily, Alex was off talking to the homeroom teacher, so she didn't hear his question.

"Yeah. We all do. Alex gave us a lecture this morning. I'm warning you; don't get her started," I whispered.

"Oh, right. Let's go then," he said and led the way to the parade hall.

The parade hall was packed full of students. The principal and deputy stood at the front of the parade hall with the microphone.

"Everybody take a seat!" The principal boomed into the mike. "We have a lot to get through this morning so the quicker you're ready, the quicker you'll get to your next class!" All the students groaned.

"Silence!" The principal ordered. The parade hall did exactly that.

"We are here today to welcome a new family joining us. This family is very well known for their band Nuclear Puppets. Please welcome, the Cullen Family!"

Everyone stood up. The parade hall roared with life as screaming and whistling carried on. I clasped my hands over my ears and looked towards the direction of the front gate. Unfortunately, I could still hear Alex screaming beside me.

A white stretch limo appeared and the chauffeur hopped out. He opened the passengers' door and a stunning looking girl stepped out into the light. She had very pale skin and short spiky deep black hair. She was quite short and she wore massive sunglasses over her eyes. She looked like a supermodel, yet she didn't belong here with all these rich dags around. She waved to the crowd and then reached into the limo and grabbed her schoolbag, which she swung over her shoulder. Then she skipped like a dancer beside the limo and stood there. Anyone could have mistaken her with an angel.

Shortly after, a boy with honey blond hair stepped out of the limo. He was tall and lean, yet muscular and as pale as the supermodel. He waved to the crowd too, reached in the limo, grabbed his schoolbag and went to stand beside _her_. They took each other's hands and looked towards the limo.

I couldn't hear Alex screaming anymore, so I turned to see if she was still there. She was, but she was just clapping - like most people. I turned back to look at the limo in case I had missed something. I hadn't.

Another girl stepped out of the limo. She had golden, wavy hair and she was taller than the supermodel. She waved to the crowd and Sam (who was standing in front of me) suddenly dropped to the ground.

"HELP!!! HELP!!!" I yelled as I tried to pick Sam off the ground. I yelled at Alex to keep an eye on him while I went to see the teachers. She nodded and continued clapping. I ran past her and towards the front of the parade hall, but the amount of students in the hall kept on pushing me back. I finally reached the principal and as I was explaining what had just happened, the noise of the crowd grew. I turned to face the limo and noticed a muscular boy with dark, curly hair standing beside the perfect blonde. He had the same pale skin as the others. I showed the principal the way to Sam and he nodded and followed me through the crowd.

A few minutes passed and an ambulance parked behind the limo. Paramedics ran out and came towards us. They put Sam on the roller bed and took him back to the ambulance. I saw Jonathan follow them into the ambulance. They drove away shortly later.

The crowd started chanting "EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!", so I clasped my hands to my ears again and stood on my tiptoes to get a better view.

A boy with messy bronze coloured hair stepped out of the limo and the crowd went ballistic! He had the same pale skin as the rest of his family, yet none of them looked alike. He was less bulky than the other two boys and he was just as tall as the boy that stood beside the supermodel. Alex went crazy beside me. I wanted to just leave and listen to my mp3 player, yet I could not get my eyes off this boy. He was beautiful. Even someone with the best imagination could not think of this boy. What an angel! He followed the same actions as his family members and he stood beside them. Together, they looked like a family from heaven - a gift from the gods.

"Everyone please welcome the Cullen family!" The principal roared into the speaker system. Again, the volume of the crowd increased dramatically.

I walked into my history class and sat down at my usual spot. The seat next to me was always free for anyone who wanted to join the loner. I grabbed my pencil case and my history book out of my bag and dumped the bag on the floor. The class went quiet as Mr Burgess the history teacher walked into the class with a new student – the supermodel with black short spiky hair.

"Everyone, I'd like you to give a warm welcome to one of our new students today – Alice Cullen," Mr Burgess announced to the class. The class exchanged hellos with Alice.

_Now, Mr Burgess would send Alice to sit next to me, the loner. Please not me,_ I repeated over and over again in my head. Knowing my luck, Alice would probably end up sitting beside me.

"Bella, would it be okay if Alice was to sit beside you today?" Mr Burgess asked me.

Alice looked at me. She had very dark eyes.

"Yeah, sure," I replied. As if I could say no.

"Thanks Bella," Mr Burgess motioned Alice to sit next to me.

She danced her way, _walked _was a bit of an understatement, towards the desk and remained standing.

"Hello, my name is Alice," her high, soft voice sang. She held out her hand for me to shake.

"Hi. Bella," I responded, reaching out to shake her hand.

Her hand was ice cold. I shivered and she noticed, pulling her hand away quickly.

"Why are you so cold on a hot day like this?" I asked her. Once the words had spilled out of my mouth, I felt cruel. I didn't want to offend Alice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ask you that. It wasn't very nice of me to ask you," I apologised. My eyes went back to my book. I felt really mean, like a big bully.

"It's okay," she laughed, "I get asked that question all the time. Don't worry about it."

"Really?" I asked, stunned. My face turned to look her in the eyes. She wasn't offended as she had a smile on her face.

"Yeah. Anyway, back to the question; I don't know why I'm cold. Even my doctor doesn't know."

"Bella, Alice; it's nice to see you're getting along, but can you please focus on history right now?" Mr Burgess yelled across the room.

"I was-" I began.

"Sorry sir, I was just talking to Bella about something," Alice finished my sentence for me, smiled me a flash of white pearls and took a seat beside me.

The rest of that lesson was spent concentrating on the whiteboard in front of us. Surprisingly, I was quite upset when the bell rang. I'm usually the one glancing at the clock constantly to count down to next class or lunchtime. But this history class went really quickly.

"May I join you and your friends for morning tea, Bella?" Alice grabbed my arm as I went to run out of the classroom.

"Sure, come on!" I helped her pack her book into her bag, reached for her wrist and pulled her out into the bustling corridor. There were people everywhere!

As we ran towards my locker, Alice must have bumped into someone as there now was a boy holding Alice's other wrist. As we neared my locker, I let go and told Alice to stay where she was. When I reached my locker, I pulled my locker key from my skirt pocket and reached up to collect my books for my next class. I turned around and faced an angel's face and dropped my books to the ground.

"Oops," I quickly managed to say as I bent down to scoop up my belongings.

"Here, I'll help you," a musical voice said. His velvety voice had a British accent.

The angels' long white fingers helped me collect my stuff. In a few seconds, I held everything in my arms and I turned to look at the angel's face once more.

I had seen this face not so long ago, possibly today, but from far away. The pale white skin, the bronze messy hair, the scorching beautiful eyes.

Edward.

Yes, I was sure of it. This was Edward, the male vocalist for the band Alice was in; Nuclear Puppets. I could not stop looking at his face - his dark eyes, crooked smile, messy hair, and pale skin - the face of an angel.

"Bella, this is my brother Edward," Alice said as if on cue.

"I know," I whispered, still gazing him in the eyes. "I mean, everyone knows you're Edward," I added so I didn't sound like a stalker. My eyes broke the lock of our gazing and went back to looking at the pile of books in my hands.

"Nice to meet you, Bella," Edward replied. My eyes drifted back to his and he smiled another crooked smile.

"Are we going to eat now? I'm hungry!" Alice cried.

"Sure," I replied. "This way," I started to head towards the spot where we sat at lunch. Alice followed.

"Would I be welcome to join you?" A distant Edward voice asked.

I turned and saw Edward standing a few metres away, he hadn't moved.

"Yes, why not?" I asked, our eyes locking together again.

"I don't know. It's just polite to ask first," Edward smiled another crooked smile. That was three now, I was counting. How did he know that a smile was all that could change my mind? Not that I would have said no to the angel in the first place.

"Oh, okay. So are we going?" I asked.

"Oh Yes! Come on Edward!" Alice exclaimed excitedly, getting hold of Edward's' wrist.

We walked through the crowded corridors and it felt bizarre that everyone was watching us. Ok, I have to say; it did kind of feel weird being followed by two beautiful people. From the spectators' perspectives, it probably looked like two beautiful signets following the ugly duckling. I led them towards the seats and as we arrived, Alex looked up from her iPod and looked me straight in my eyes. She smiled happily, leapt to her feet and introduced herself to Edward.

"Hey Edward! I'm your number one fan - Alex Rippet," She held out her hand for him to shake.

"Hi," He said, turning to look at me with a confused look on his face. He went to shake her hand but then changed his mind and went to fluff up his hair.

"Hi Alex, I'm Alice," Alice stepped out and stood in front of Edward and held out her hand.

"Hey Alice," Alex couldn't take her eyes off Edward and she didn't see Alices' hand.

Alice turned to face me and pulled an ugly face.

"Come on Alice, let's eat," I told her.

"Good plan," She said as she raised her eyebrows and frowned.

We sat down on the seats and began to munch away at our food. Then we chatted about our school and who was who; who to avoid, who to say hi to, who the nasties were, etc. Our conversation took an unexpected turn when we started talking about Alex and her love for Edward.

"Yeah, it does seem like there are two lovebirds over there," I whispered to Alice as I turned around to see how Alex and Edward were getting along.

"Excuse me?! Lovebirds?" Edward asked me, his face practically in mine. He was standing behind me looking at my shocked face. Our eyes met and wouldn't let go.

"I mean, someone's in love," I corrected, scared that he would be fuming with me.

"That's better," he smiled his crooked smile, "but still disturbing."

Alice giggled and I tried to unlock us from each others' gaze. Edward came and sat next to me while I turned around to see where Alex was. She was sitting on the ground, eating her own food, watching Edward and I carefully.

We spent our morning tea time discussing the food from the canteen. It was a random conversation, but I was thinking about other things. How many fans did they have? Were they world famous? Did they live in a posh mansion? I asked myself all these questions, but was too scared to ask in case they thought I would become like everyone else asking them the same questions 24/7. The bell rang and I lead Alice and Edward in the direction of their next classes.

"Can we come back here at lunch?" Alice asked me on her way to class.

"Absolutely! Then you can meet my other friends Jonathan, Sam and Josephine!" I exclaimed. Why they hadn't come at morning tea, I wondered.

**PLEASE help me by reviewing and letting me know how I can improve, and telling me what you think. Thank-you.**


	3. Chapter 2 The Stranger

**Hello again. I promise to keep this short. I'd like some more reviews, please. Okay, I hope you enjoy.**

The rest of the day was brilliant. Alice met my other friends Sam, Jonathan and Josie. Alex stayed very quiet and shy from the embarrassment. It felt bizarre to be talking to a famous musician. Everyone around us kept staring - _Bella and her friends are not allowed to talk to famous people, their loner group is to remain loners - _that was the rule of all rules. The rest of Alice's family didn't join us at lunch; Edward had a meeting and the other two were seniors that hung out with other seniors. The other family member, Jasper I think his name was, didn't join us either - he had found a cooler friend.

The minute I walked out of the school gate at 3 o'clock that afternoon, the weather changed. The skies darkened and it started to rain.

"Bella! Bella! I'm over here Bells!" Jacob's voice boomed across the busy car park.

Jacob was standing beside his Nissan as usual. I strolled over towards him and hopped in the passenger seat.

"So, how did the canteen thing go this morning?" I asked him.

"Good," He replied as he shook the rainwater out of his hair. "It paid off - Miss Bradlen was glad to see me turn up and help her. So, what do you think of the new family?" Jacob turned to face me.

"Well, they're cool. I've only met Alice and Edward. The others were off with other friends," I explained. "Alice and I are in the same History class and I met Edward. They're pretty nice."

"Yeah, I hung out with Jasper today. He wants to do something with me on the weekend. We'll probably go to the beach or something like that," He informed me.

The rain stopped and the sun came out again. Wow, the weather was moody today.

"So what are we doing this afternoon?" I asked Jacob as he drove out of the car park.

"Well, I need to do some food shopping for Dad while he's at work. What're you going to do?" He asked me, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Probably take Diesel for a walk round the block," I replied.

"Sounds good to me!" Jacob looked at me and gave me a smile.

He drove us home in silence. I wondered what he was thinking, but I didn't want to ask him –the silence was peaceful. Jacob dropped me off at home and went off on his way to the shops. I opened the front door and Diesel greeted me. Diesel was our 5-year-old Collie dog. He had a gentle character and always loved to see us. He was part of our family, like a little brother – only he was much bigger than a child.

I raced him up the stairs and into my bedroom where I got changed into a pair of jeans and a singlet. I put my joggers on and raced Diesel down the stairs and into the living room. My iPod was on the kitchen bench top so I grabbed it as I walked out the door with Diesel by my side.

We turned the corner of a street 500m away from our house when I felt a drop of water fall on my nose. I looked up to the sky, which was grey again.

"Come on Diesel, let's turn around and go home before we get drenched," I told Diesel, knowing he wouldn't understand. I didn't care.

The rain was falling heavily now, and we started jogging down the street. I suddenly got blinded from lights of a car. A shiny silver Volvo drove up the street and stopped beside me. I stopped cautiously as the driver rolled down the window. He was wearing sunglasses. I was getting ready to bolt.

"Hey, hop in," His calm voice ordered.

"I'm not allowed to talk to strangers. Goodbye," I replied as I continued walking. Diesel growled slightly and then put himself between the car and I. The car reversed and stopped beside me once again.

"Bella, I'm no stranger," He chuckled as he removed his sunnies.

I gasped as I realised who it was. The driver smiled a crooked smile.

It was Edward.

"Bloody hell Edward! You scared me!" I growled.

"Just hop in, you're getting wet. You can tell me off when you're in here, nice and dry," Edward comforted me.

I opened the back door for Diesel to hop in and I sat in the passengers' seat.

"Sorry for scaring the crap out of you Bella," His irresistible voice sounded like he meant it. "I didn't want you to get wet."

"Well, I was already wet and now I'm going to damage your car seat. You should have let me go," I responded. My heart was still beating at the speed of light.

"Don't worry about it. I need a new car anyway," His gorgeous British accent purred.

His car seemed brand new, but maybe it was a celebrity thing - a new car every three weeks, or something ridiculous like that.

I shivered as the cold water ran down my arms. Edward noticed and he pulled off his jacket.

"Here, this will keep you warm," he said, handing me his brown leather jacket.

"No. It's okay. I'll survive, really," I didn't want to make his jacket wet as well.

"Just take it," he growled, his eyes were as dark as the night sky. I shivered.

I couldn't argue with him now. My fingers took the jacket from his hold and I slipped my arms through the sleeves.

"Thanks."

"Welcome. See, that's much better now, isn't it?" he purred.

"Yeah," I smiled and he smiled in return.

"So you're not allowed to speak to strangers?" Edward teased.

"Well, unlike you who talks to your fans that are complete strangers, no," I replied.

"You have a point. Your parents brought you up well," he looked me in the eyes.

"You sound like my Grandpa," I told him.

He laughed.

"Well, you do!" I laughed with him.

"Is that a good thing?" he asked.

"It can be. I love my Grandpa very much but he says that all the time and it gets on my nerves," I explained.

"If you love your Grandpa very much, then I'm happy," Edward smiled his crooked smile and put his foot on the accelerator. "Where are we going?" Edward was now looking at the road.

"To my house," I replied.

"Why not my house?"

"Can we drop off Diesel first, so you don't have a big wet dog in your house?" I asked him.

"Sure," he purred.

We drove in silence apart from the directions I gave Edward to get to my house. The rain continued and the only sound was from the windscreen wipers. He parked his Volvo in the driveway. There was no sign of Jacob's Nissan; he must have a very long shopping list.

"Ok, I'll put Diesel inside and can I get changed?" I asked.

"Why do you need to get changed? I think that outfit looks very nice on you," he was surprised.

"I'm wet," I replied.

"True. I'll be waiting here," he looked away from my gaze and looked out the window.

"Okay, I'll be quick."

I opened the car door, stepped into the rain and opened the back door for Diesel. He hopped out and I shut the door behind him. We ran through the rain together until I reached the front door of the house. We entered the house and I looked at myself in the mirror in the hallway. My hair was drenched. Oh crap, I just remembered that Edward was waiting in his car for me. The excited feeling of hanging out with EDWARD hadn't hit me yet. It'd felt like we'd been friends for years. It surprised me that I felt comfortable talking to him. I sprinted up the stairs and into my bedroom where I saw my English book slipping out of my bag on the floor. Oh no, I had English homework that was due tomorrow. I felt devastated.

My feet dragged down the stairs as I walked towards the front door. I made my way into the rain. I couldn't be bothered to run in the rain so I just took it easy.

"What's wrong Bella? You look upset," Edward curiously asked me as I reached his car.

"I've got homework to do that's due tomorrow. I'm afraid I can't come with you to your house. Sorry, but thanks for the ride." I felt awful. I wanted to cry.

"Oh, that's a shame. Oh well," He sighed.

"But why don't you come inside for a hot chocolate?" I didn't know where that came from!

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" He agreed and his mouth formed a crooked smile.

"Great. I'll just go and make sure I've got some chocolate first," I added.

"Bella, you are absurd," He chuckled.

"Thanks Edward. I appreciate it," I replied sarcastically.

He hopped out of his car and pressed the auto lock. Edward ran towards the front door and he grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with him. We reached the front door and I glanced down to where he was holding my wrist. He let go and looked away from my face. He seemed embarrassed.

I swung the cupboard door open and grabbed the drinking cocoa powder.

"Quite nice house you've got," I still wasn't used to his British accent.

"It does the job. At least we've got a roof over our heads," I responded as I found two mugs.

"Fair enough," He said, examining the photo frames on the walls. "Is that you when you were young?" He turned to look at me as he pointed at the picture that was taken when I was at the beach at the age of three.

"Yep, that's me," I answered.

"It's cute," He smiled his crooked smile again and his eyes were still dark in colour, even when the lights shone on them.

"You think so? You're the only person that's said that, apart from my brother who likes to take the mickey out of me all the time," I returned the smile.

"Yeah. Mind you, you've changed a lot but the photo looks like you," He said casually.

"Ah, Edward? Would you like a marshmallow with your hot chocolate?" I asked him.

"Sure, why not? It's part of the deal, isn't it?" He chuckled.

"If you say so," I replied cheekily.

I spent the rest of our afternoon showing and recounting the photos on the walls. Edward seemed very interested in my life. He also helped me with my English homework, which was good because I didn't understand what half of the questions were asking of me.

"It's about time I go home," Edward suddenly said.

"Oh, okay," I couldn't ask him to stay a bit longer.

"Thanks for the hot chocolate, it was the nicest one I've ever had," he congratulated me.

"I don't believe you," I protested.

"You don't have to, but I know it's true." The crooked smile reappeared. "Anyway, will I see you tomorrow?" Edward asked me on his way out the door.

"Probably, if you hang out with us you will. What happened to the ditching of your sister?" I teased.

"Alice?" He asked.

"Yes, she was looking out for you at lunch," I explained.

"I had to go to a meeting," Edward told me.

"Will you come with us at lunch tomorrow?"

"If I don't have another meeting."

"Ok. See you then."

"See you later Bella."

"Thanks for the ride!"

Edward hopped into his car and started the engine. He reversed out onto the street and drove away. I waved until he was out of sight. Well, now was the time to catch my breath. Wow, I had just spent my afternoon with Edward. THE Edward. The one every teenage girl was talking about. And I'd see him again tomorrow. Yay! I struggled to hold back a little shriek.

I just about had enough time to clean and dry the mugs, when Jacob walked in.

"So, did you have a long shopping list or did you just get lost in the aisles?" I asked him sarcastically.

"Neither. I met this cool chick. She started talking to me, so we talked…a bit," He shrugged.

"A bit?" I hadn't missed the last part.

"A bit," He agreed.

"Ok."

"And what did _you_ do?" He asked me suspiciously.

"Well, it's a long story. Long and the short is that I was walking Diesel and I bumped into Edward. He drove me home and then came over. Edward helped me with my homework and we had a hot chocolate. The end," I responded.

"Okay," He smiled smugly.

"It's not like that, Jacob. Edward and I are friends; nothing more," I replied.

"If you say so," He had the same smug look on his face as he packed the cold groceries into the fridge.

"I say so," I agreed.

Compared to my short afternoon with Edward (it seemed to go by so quickly yet I had spent a few hours with him) the night dragged on. Jacob and I prepared dinner, Charlie came home, we ate, showered, watched TV and went to bed. I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling. There was no way even a lullaby could get me to sleep now. Even the butterflies in my stomach hadn't gone to bed. I lay with my head on the pillow, just staring at the ceiling, thinking about the day that had just been. I thought about Edward and the way he scared me. What a stranger! I felt really stupid now. Even thinking of the way he stopped his car beside me made my heart speed up again. _Calm down, Bella,_ I thought, _you'll see him tomorrow. You'll - see - him - tomorrow..._

There was no sun peeping through my curtains the next morning. Instead, I could hear the light pitter-patter of the small raindrops on the roof. Not another wet, slow day. Argh!

I crept down the stairs and saw Jacob sitting alone and sad at the table.

"Jacob? Are you okay?" I asked quietly. He looked up. Jacob seemed depressed.

"Yeah, what makes you think I'm not?" He asked.

"I don't know; you look depressed?"

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Oh."

"So are you?"

"What?"

"Depressed?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay," I shrugged.

I dragged my feet across the cool floor, into the kitchen where I found a bowl. I filled it with cereal, and made my way to the table. The seat was cold, so I sat on my legs.

"What's wrong Jacob?"

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"I'm not going to give up until you tell me."

"Really? Oh, I'm sorry. Have fun with the disappointment then."

"Ha ha. Just tell me, please?"

"I've got an assignment due today and I haven't finished it yet. How's that?"

"Guess what? I don't believe you!"

"Guess what?! You should!"

"Just tell me Jacob! WHAT'S WRONG?!"

"Nothing, Bella. Nothing's wrong."

"I know there is. Please just tell me?"

He remained silent for a moment, taking deep breaths and re-filling his lungs with the cool, clean air.

"It's just that I'm upset that I'm nearly finished school. You know, I'll miss my friends and the routines. I don't know what I'm going to do after school. Go to University? Travel? I don't know." Tears filled his eyes, so I thought I'd give him a hug.

"Jacob, you can do whatever you want to do. It's your life. Just promise me you won't go to schoolies and get pissed like the rest of them. Please?" I held out my little pinkie, waiting for him to make his promise. He considered it, and finally shook my little pinkie.

"Okay, I promise."

"Thank-you Jacob."

"You're welcome." A small smile appeared on his face. I liked making my older brother happy. It made me feel older, more mature, grown up...and loved.

"So...are you driving me to school today or am I walking in the rain?" I asked Jacob.

"Second option." He made a cheeky face.

I gasped. "How could you do that to me?"

"Do I know you?" He laughed. As soon as he said the words, it reminded me of yesterday and Edward acting like a _stranger_.

"Thanks for that! I believe you're my _brother_?!" I laughed with him.

"Really? Maybe you were adopted?" He cheekily added.

"I don't think so!"

"Are you sure? Did you know your real name was Isabella Marie Cullen?"

I gasped again, speechless. "No. It. Wasn't." I was over the laughing at this stage.

"Yes it was!"

"No. It. WASN'T!"

"Yeah, I know. I was just joking."

"I should hope so." I was pissed off. How could he make fun of me like that? Just because I had spent ONE afternoon with EDWARD CULLEN, how could he tease me like that?! I didn't know.

I took one spoonful of the cereal from my bowl and shoved it down. I didn't understand why Jacob bought this stuff when it wasn't even tasty. When I had my own car, I could go wherever I wanted to at whatever time I decided to. I could go to the shops and get quality food.

I whistled for Diesel and I soon saw him coming down the stairs. Boy was Diesel sleepy this morning. He was slow, but then hurried up as he saw what I had planned for him. I scraped the cereal onto the wooden floor, and Diesel started to eat it up.

"Alright, I'm going to get dressed," I let Jacob know.

"Okay. Then we'll be off, hey?"

"Absolutely," I said as I made my way to the kitchen to clean my bowl.

The kitchen was very dark this morning, so I pulled up the blinds. I cleaned my bowl, left it to dry on the rack, and skipped up the stairs. I got changed into my uniform and went to the bathroom to brush my hair. I wasn't the type of person that spent hours looking at myself in the mirror and I didn't really care what my hair looked like; at long as it was comfortable, I was happy. I liked the slight curls and waves in my hair though, yet all my friends told me I should straighten it. Stuff them. My hair was my hair. If they wanted to burn their hair until it was as wiry as a man's moustache (not that I knew what a man's moustache felt like) they were allowed to. I straightened my hair once, and it made me look ugly. I had nothing against the straightening of hair, I mean; the first time Josie did it to me I was quite excited. It was just that I didn't have time to straighten my hair every morning; I preferred to be at school on time than looking at myself in the mirror for 20 minutes just to make sure that I looked good. I ran the hairbrush through my hair, removing all the knots.

"Come on, gal!" Jacob's voice boomed from downstairs. "Or ya'll be walkin' in the rain!"

"Comin' Jake!" I yelled back.

I brushed my teeth vigorously and went to the toilet. Then, I turned on my heel and jogged down the dark hallway and into my bedroom. I grabbed my bag from the floor, and slung it over my shoulder. I quickly ran out of the room, and leapt down the stairs. Today I would see Edward again. Today I would be happy, I promised myself. The front door slammed behind me.

My fingers curled around the door handle of Jacobs' car. I leapt into the passenger seat and put my seatbelt on.

"Let's go," Jacob said.

"Okay."

"Hold on to your underwear young lady. We're going to do a bit of sport driving."

"NO. WE'RE. NOT." I didn't like it when Jacob put our lives in danger by driving like a hoon. He drove around tight corners thinking he was superman. I didn't like this at all. His foot pressed on the accelerator and the tires screeched before launching us at high speeds. The road flew underneath us.

"SLOW DOWN JACOB!" I yelled.

"Hey Bella, I'm sitting right next to you. You don't need to scream in my ear, for crying out loud!" Jacob looked at me and continued driving at horrifying speeds.

"Keep your eyes on the road, idiot!" I yelled a bit softer this time.

"Fine," Jacob gave in and slammed on the brakes at the red light. We were both sent forward and his head bumped the horn on the steering wheel. He laughed and the passengers in the car in the next lane looked at us strangely. I tried to hide my face from their view but I couldn't help laughing from the look on their faces.

We arrived in the school carpark. The rain continued and a bit of wind picked up too. I stepped out of the car and into the bustle of high school. Jacob waved goodbye and went on his way to find his friends. I strolled casually towards my locker, and bumped into the schools' richest group of friends.

**So what are you thinking? Please check out my profile and vote. Thanx :) And review, of course!**


	4. Chapter 3 Heaven or Hell?

**Hello once again! Thank-you to all of you who reviewed, I am very grateful! So, I thought I'd give you the next chapter. Hope you like it!**

**Please remember: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!! I wish I did, though!**

Chapter three - Heaven or hell?

"Watch where you're going, _Miss Cullen_," Angelina snickered as she ran into me. She was the leader of the gang, the richest of us all.

"Miss Cullen?" I asked, curiously. You know what they say; curiosity kills the cat.

"Yes, you heard me correctly. I've heard you hang around him. Is that so?" Her eyes pierced me like a dagger into a heart. She showed her teeth and wrinkled up her nose slightly.

"Look. Just leave me alone, okay? It's none of your business, _Angelina_," I spat her name out and turned to walk away. She grabbed onto my backpack and yanked me back.

"What do you want from me?" I asked her nastily. I'd decided that I wasn't going to give up this fight.

"I don't want you. I want _him_, Bella. _Edward Cullen_," she said, clutching her hand to her heart like a lunatic, "You give him to me, I leave you alone. Fair deal?" The corner of her mouth pulled up slyly.

"He's not mine anyway." My voice was like ice. It sounded pretty cool for this moment.

"And…Bella, I know there's something else you forgot to say…" she tried to make me continue.

"What?" I showed my teeth too.

"And… he never will…"

"Be mine?" I tried to fill in the gaps. This was stupid. Fighting over a guy. It was something I'd never done before.

"You said it. He's not yours and he never will be. That's right Bella, when he lays his eyes on me, _Angelina Gold_, that'll be it. He'll never be able to look at a stinky rat," she eyed me up and down and scrunched her nose up like she had just smelled the worst smell possible, "again. Edward Cullen will be mine, and I will soon become Angelina Cullen." She smiled when she said her new name.

"Well, you're not there yet. But I'll let him know your father's already arranged the wedding. I'm sure he'll be _pleased_," I rolled my eyes and put a fake smile on my face.

"Oh. Do you really think he'll be happy?" Angelina asked her slaves.

"Angelina," the slave on her right looked down to the ground, "it's called sarcasm."

"Oh." Angelina's smile quickly faded and she scowled at me.

"See ya," I smiled back and turned to walk away. This time she didn't hold my bag back.

I finally reached my locker and looked at my watch as I reached up to collect my books for first period. Only 5 minutes left until I had to go to Legal studies. Legal studies was the most boring subject available, yet Charlie strongly suggested it. To him, Legal studies should be compulsory. My teacher wasn't my favourite, but she was nice to me. Having a nice teacher made a difference when your subject was as boring as hell.

"Bella! Bella!" A high-pitch voice called my name. It seemed to be getting louder every time.

I turned around and saw Alice skipping towards me. Unlike yesterday, she was wearing her uniform. It suited her nicely and her hair was as spiky as yesterday. She continued skipping and when she reached me, she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug.

"Morning Alice," I stiffened, as I wasn't used to this type of behaviour from my friends.

"How are you today Bella? I heard Edward saved you from the rain last night?" She winked at me.

"Oh, yeah," I lowered my head; trying to hide the blush I could feel creeping on my face.

She giggled.

"So, what class have you got this morning? We might be in the same class again! Wouldn't that be great?!" She exclaimed. I looked her in the eyes now, and they were lighter in colour than they were yesterday.

"I've got legal studies, and you?"

Her smile disappeared and she sighed.

"I've got English."

"Oh."

"Hmm."

"Oh well, I'll see you at lunchtimes anyway," I tried to cheer her up. It didn't seem to work though.

"Yes, that's true. See you at lunch then," she turned away as the bell for first period rang.

"Alice?"

She turned around and looked at me.

"Meet you here."

I arrived at my Legal Studies classroom and I went to sit at my usual spot, the only problem was there was already someone sitting there. He had his back turned to me and was talking to the people that were sitting in the next row. I made my way towards the desk.

"Excuse me? That's where I sit. Can you go back to your normal spot please?" I asked. He still had his back to me. Then he turned around.

It was Edward Cullen.

"Bella," he smiled and looked me in the eyes.

"Why do we keep meeting this way?" I mumbled as I plonked my books and bag on the desk beside him.

"Honestly, I don't know," his British accent purred. He smiled his crooked smile; it was to die for.

The other classmates started wolf whistling and booing as they watched us closely.

"Cullen, Bella's the lowest you can get!" Someone yelled out. Luckily the teacher hadn't arrived yet, otherwise my dad would hear about this sooner or later. I felt the blush creeping up again.

"Bella, would you mind if I joined you at lunch today?" Edward asked a bit too loudly. He didn't seem to notice the rest of the class. The class booed again and I felt betrayed. Why did this have to happen?

I lowered my head as the Legal Studies teacher walked in the door.

"Good morning class, today we're researching for our assignments again. Is there anybody that would like to go on the computers in the library?" She asked.

This was a good opportunity. I could escape the pressure of the class and I could focus on my work, not that I wanted to.

"Yes miss, I'll go to the library." I raised my hand and looked towards the desk. Edward stared at me like I had just insulted him. I felt awful. My heart felt heavy, what it feels like when you're about to cry.

"Okay, Bella. Is there anybody else that would like to go?" She searched the class for anymore volunteers.

"Cullen?" The same voice as before boomed out across the class.

He looked at his desk and then he watched me as I collected my books and left the room.

It was nice and quite in the library. I sat at my computer waiting for it to load into my login. I stared absent-mindedly out the window and started humming the 'Hogwarts March' to myself. I felt a warm tear drip down my face and onto my lap. Why did this have to happen? Why did everyone think there was something going on between us? I just didn't get it.

I wondered how Edward would feel. Would he feel the same? Would he be uncomfortable? Coming to a new school and on your second day you get bullied? I would want to move schools. Maybe he was a bit stronger than I was. After all, he was a celebrity. Maybe this had happened so many times before and this time was just a ritual; he was used to it? Maybe he didn't care. Maybe he just didn't want his reputation to be ruined. Maybe he didn't care about me whatsoever. I didn't know. I was alone, in the dark. The candle was blown out. I was scared and lost. What would happen next? Maybe he would bump into Angelina and he'd be happy? I didn't know, and quite frankly, I didn't care. I really didn't care.

"Are you okay possum?" An old ladies voice asked me. I turned to face the librarian.

"Yeah, just waiting for the computer to load," I told her, wiping the water out of my eyelashes.

"It was loaded about five minutes ago, possum," She smiled.

"Oh. Thanks," I turned to look at the computer screen and she patted me on the shoulder as I heard her noisy high heels walk away.

I started researching my topic for Legal Studies: Euthanasia. _Euthanasia is the kind hearted intention of killing a person,_ I read. I needed something like Euthanasia right about now. I knew what was coming for me; the whole school would soon be against me. _Why Bella?_ They would ask Edward. He would be speechless. Nothing would come to his mind. _Exactly, why me?_

"Bella?" asked a soft voice behind me. I turned around to see who it was.

Edward.

"What do you want, Edward? Why are you even talking to me?" I asked him angrily.

"I don't know what you're talking about Bella? Why wouldn't I be talking to you?" He was shocked about what I'd just told him.

"What happened in Legal Studies? And, you're a celebrity. What type of celebrity talks to _me_?" I asked him coldly. I was hurt deep inside but I couldn't take my eyes off his perfect face.

"A stupid celebrity would ignore you. Now Bella, you need to ignore what's going on in class. Tell them to leave you alone. Stand up for yourself." He was serious.

"Well, I wouldn't need to stand up for myself if you didn't talk to me," I spat out.

"Why shouldn't I talk to you? Because I'm a celebrity and you're not?" He asked.

"Yes! Famous people like you aren't supposed to hang out with people like me; you're supposed to hang out with the richest of the school. That's where you belong. Not with somebody who got into the school via a scholarship because her father who couldn't afford sending her daughter to a posh school but he wanted to give her a chance! Hang out with the people whose parents are dentists and beauty therapists!" I was talking way too loudly now, but I didn't care.

"So you suggest I should leave you alone and get some "real"' he motioned with his fingers, "friends that have money. Is that what you're trying to say?" He was angry now.

"Yes. Just hang around with people that you belong with. People like you. Don't waste your time hanging around with a loner like me." I couldn't look at him any longer. My eyes flickered towards the computer screen.

"Bella, you are a real friend. Just because you don't have money like the rest of them, it doesn't mean you're not a nice person," He tried to explain. "I may be rich, but it doesn't mean that I shouldn't hang around with someone who got into the school via talent."

"It's just that…" I sighed, deciding whether or not I should continue.

"Yes?"

"Everyone will make fun of you if you hang around us."

"And your point is?"

"Forget it, Edward. Leave me alone."

"Why, Bella? Why? I choose my friends; I don't let some idiot from my legal studies class choose them for me. And I don't care if they're not the richest kids in the school. They're probably the kindest and most talented kids in the school."

I looked up into his eyes and noticed that Alice wasn't the only one whose eyes had changed colour. I felt immediately curious as to ask why this was.

"Just one question," I began.

"Yes?" He urged me to continue.

"Do you wear contacts?" There, I'd done it.

He laughed.

"Well? Do you?" I wasn't giving up yet.

"Bella, you are so absurd," He chuckled.

"Tell me, Edward," I forced him to answer even though I didn't sound scary at all.

"Out of all the questions you could've asked me, you ask me if I wear contacts?" He continued laughing and his eyes sparkled.

"Well, I don't think that's absurd," I explained myself.

"Yes, these are contacts. Happy?" He asked. His eyes were looking straight at me and he smiled the crooked smile.

"Why do you wear contacts?" I asked, confused.

"I believe you asked one question too many," He added cheekily.

"Oh, come on!"

"Okay, okay!" He sat down on the chair that was for the computer beside me.

"So…"

"Last week we had a concert in the city. For every concert we wear these contacts. Why? Because the lights that we use are so bright we wouldn't be able to see the microphones and the guitars we were playing if we weren't wearing these contacts," He explained.

"So they're like sunglasses," I tried to understand.

"Yes. But if we wore sunglasses, they might fall off when we're singing or moving around. You know what I mean?" He asked.

"Why are you still wearing them if your concert was last week?" I was confused.

"Because you can't take these contacts out. You just have to wait until they disintegrate. They last a few days," He told me.

"So when will they wear out?"

"In approximately two days time. Then my eyes will be back to normal until our next concert,"

"Next concert?" How many concerts did they have?

"Yes, next month. Do you want to go?" He asked honestly.

"I don't know. My friends tell me your songs are pop and rock. I'm more a jazzy type of person," I explained.

"Well, you never know; you might like it anyway." His mouth pulled up at the corners and the crooked smile appeared.

"Maybe. I don't know," I sighed. My eyes drifted back to the computer screen, I'd better begin researching for my assignment before the bell goes.

"So can I join you at lunch?" He asked.

I looked at him and instantly regretted it. Great, now I probably wouldn't have enough time to work on my assignment. We looked at each other before I had the breath to say something.

"Yes, I guess. Only if you don't have another meeting, and…" He cut me off.

"Two reasons?" Edward asked. The look on his face was irresistible; I let a little giggle escape.

"Yes. So as I was saying…only if you don't have another meeting and only if you mind hanging around with a group of poor loners," I said.

"Hey, I choose my friends; I don't get somebody else to choose them for me. And by the way, you guys aren't poor loners. I know that in your heart you're as precious as gold, and you're talented and smart. So what have you got to lose?" He smiled the crooked smile before rising out of his seat. "I'd better get to work too, before the bell goes," He added before heading towards the bookshelves.

He left me hanging. There was nothing else to say. I didn't really have the breath to say anything more anyway.

I continued researching Euthanasia, but I couldn't get my mind off Edward. How could he be so perfect?

The bell rang shortly later and as I was walking out, I felt a little tap on the shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey. We're do you think you're going?" Edwards' British accent purred.

"Somewhere…" I answered.

"Somewhere without me? That's not very nice," He accused.

"Sorry," I said sarcastically.

"Mmm," He mumbled with a smile.

My school shoes squelched all the way to home room. They were full of water, and cold. Something that was hard to avoid on a cold wet day. I finally reached homeroom, after two long minutes of what I liked to call "Shoe rhythm". Sam was sitting in an unusual spot today, and Alex had a sour look on her face. I wondered what 'excitement' I'd missed.

"So, what happened? What did I miss?" I asked Sam.

"I don't know, really. Alex is just in a foul mood and won't talk to me. God only knows why!" He was upset, I could tell by the tone of his voice and his eyes were empty.

"Okay." There was nothing else to say.

I got my name marked off the roll, and Susie read the notices for the class. As I was walking out the door, I felt a few warm fingers take hold of my hand. No, this couldn't be Edward! Please no!

"Alex?" I asked as I turned to face the sour look I had seen a few minutes ago.

"Bella, I don't think I can go back there today," her eyes drifted to the floor and she gulped.

I hadn't thought this would happen! "Why not Alex?"

"Because of what happened yesterday," Her eyes filled with small tears.

"I'm sorry, Al-"

"It's not you. Did you see the way Edward changed his mind and fluffed up his hair when I held out my hand for him to shake?! I just wanted to be friendly, but he wasn't interested in even saying HI! What is this Bella?! He's supposed to be a celebrity- Mr. Nice Guy! Not the Devil!" She was crying now, and I had to comfort her; to help her, even though I knew she'd misunderstood.

"Well Alex, that teaches you that not every celebrity is nice to everyone," I couldn't really tell her that she seemed very desperate to meet him. It did seem very suspicious.

"So where are you going to go and sit?" I asked her.

"I'll ask Sam if he wants to come with me, so I'll see you around." Her eyes drifted back to the ground and she walked away; her head bowed as if someone really close to her had just died. This was definitely not usual Alex behaviour; Alex was usually the type to stick her nose in the air as far as it would go. I decided to go to my locker and join the rest of the group.

"So, what were you two talking about? Me?" Edward's cool breath tickled my ear, his voice as angelic as ever.

"As a matter of fact, yes," I said harshly.

"Something bad?" He was looking at me in the face now, his eyes were sad.

"Yes. How'd you guess?" I asked sarcastically as I continued to reach into my locker.

"I'm Edward Cullen; I know these things," Edward replied proudly.

"So! Just because you're Edward Cullen it doesn't mean that you know everything!" I corrected.

"Are you sure?" He protested.

"I'll test you. What am I thinking of right...now?" I asked him, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Let me think... that's easy! You're thinking of...me!" His crooked smile appeared again.

I could feel the blush coming along. "Maybe..."

"Just admit it..." He urged me to go on. This was torture!

"Okay! Alright! You win." I admitted as I continued to gather my books for my next classes.

"By the way, where's Alice?" I asked Edward.

"I don't know," Edward answered.

"Really? I thought you knew everything," I rolled my eyes.

Edward gasped and gave me the death stare. I just shrugged and smiled.

"I knew you were the smart type," he commented.

"What, unlike you?" I added cheekily. I knew he was the smart type himself, but I thought I'd just test him.

"Yes," He surprisingly said.

"No!" I disagreed.

"Yes!" He growled.

"No, Edward. I know you're smart," I growled back, but I was not nearly as scary as he was.

"What are you two arguing over?" Alice stuck her head in the space between us. It wasn't until then that I noticed that Edward and I had inched our heads closer to each other. Alice smiled and looked at us both. I decided to look away and close my locker door. Then, I started to walk in the direction of where we sat at lunch.

"So, Bella. What were you two arguing over? Edward won't tell me," Alice's high voice asked me.

"Nothing. Edward wouldn't agree with me," I answered as I kept walking.

"Wouldn't agree with what?" She asked.

"Oh, he said that he knew I was the smart type. So, I thought I'd test him and I asked "unlike you?" Then he started saying "Yes, yes, yes!"'

"Right. He's like that. Anyway I wasn't in your class first, but I'm with Alex!"

"Oh, joy! No offence."

"Offence taken."

"Why am I saying all the wrong things today? I should keep my trap shut."

"You should," The British accent purred. Edward was walking on my right, Alice on my left. I gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder and he chuckled. We walked through the corridors and towards the canteen.

**So, what do you think? PLEASE let me know! I love critiscm!**


	5. Chapter 4 Invitation

**Hello my dear readers! **

**I apologise severely for not updating; I have been extremely busy with school (assignments, exams, the usual) and I hope that you can understand. :( I really enjoy being in my little fanfiction world, and I'm back! So hopefully there'll be regular updates... and perhaps some new stories! :)**

**Anyway, I'm done with the confessions... read on! You know the usual - the characters do not belong to me, however I dream that they did... don't all Twilight fans?**

**I hope you like it :)**

**CHAPTER 4 - INVITATION**

"Hello Alice," A new voice said. I turned to see who it was, but I couldn't recognise the face. It was a boy, I was sure of that. He had messy hair, like Edward, yet it was blond. He was muscular, and he had dark eyes too. He looked at me and smiled. We stopped walking in the corridor, but the corridor was still bustling of activity. A few people bumped into us and shook their heads in pity, then kept walking. It felt bizarre but kind of nice to be surrounded by pretty people.

"You must be Bella," he said. He had a slight British accent too, yet it wasn't as nice as Edwards'. He held out his hand for me to shake. It must be a British thing to do, yet I was quite impressed by their politeness.

"Yes," I shook his hand. He was cold too. Maybe it was another British thing; cold skin.

"We've heard a lot about you," he said, his eyes flickered towards Edward. I looked at Edward as his eyes drifted towards the floor. Alice giggled.

"So, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you haven't told me your name. I don't know who you are," I looked at the boy in the eyes.

"Jasper. Jasper Cullen. If you like; Alice and Edward's brother," he gave me a smile and wrapped his arms around Alice's waist and she gave him a hug back.

"How many kids are in your family?" I asked Jasper.

"Five," Edward answered me.

"Wow, and I thought our household was crowded," I said.

They laughed at my comment and I looked away, hoping none of them would notice the blush that was implanted on my face.

"You're good, Bella." Jasper laughed.

"You think so? Maybe I should become a comedian, earn some money," I replied.

Jasper and his family continued to laugh. "Maybe you should."

"I'm just _so_ funny; I'll be a millionaire in no time!" I added sarcastically.

"That actually was quite funny, Bella." Edward looked at me. He smiled the crooked smile.

"If you say so." Our eyes locked and wouldn't let go. It felt like he had me imprisoned into his own little fantasy. Only it wasn't imprisonment, just invitation.

"Well, I'd better go and get my lunch before the canteen run out of food. It was nice meeting you, Jasper. I'll see you around," I smiled at Jasper and turned to keep walking.

"See you later, Bella!" Alice called over to me as I walked away.

"Oh, okay." Jasper still had his arms wrapped tightly around Alice's waist, so I guessed she was staying with Jasper for morning tea.

The menu was the usual; juice and toast with a piece of fruit. I scanned the daily specials board and noticed that hot chocolate was also available.

"Maybe you should have the hot cocoa, Bella," Edward whispered in my ear. I turned and looked up at him. I had never actually noticed what Edward looked like in the school uniform, but it suited him nicely. He looked masculine and posh. Edward's gorgeous crooked smile appeared. It seemed like his trademark.

"Actually, I _was_ thinking of going for the hot chocolate. It might warm me up on a day like this. What are you going to have?" I asked Edward.

"Same as you," he purred. "Two hot chocolates please miss," he ordered from the canteen woman.

I dug out my five-dollar note from my pocket but was interrupted by Edward's whisper; "On me."

"No, it's all right," I told him as I continued to dig in my pocket for my note.

"Bella, please," He whispered.

"Fine," I growled.

"Let's go," he said, the tray with the two hot chocolates in his arms. He led the way towards a table.

"Aren't we going to go and sit with the others?" I asked Edward as we were walking.

"I thought we could just have a day to ourselves," He purred, looking over his shoulder and into my eyes. "If that's all right with you," The crooked smile appeared again.

"Ah, sure." What would Jonathan and Josie think? Maybe I should go and tell them that I was going to spend the day with Edward. Maybe they'd get suspicious too.

Edward sat at a table that was deserted. All the tables around were empty. He looked up at me and smiled.

"You really don't care that everyone's going to talk, do you?" I asked him.

"Nope," He replied, taking one hot chocolate off the tray and handing it over to me. I sat opposite him and took a sip of the hot chocolate. It was quite nice, but very sweet.

Edward took a sip of his too. "It's nowhere near as good as yours," He said as he placed the cup on the table.

"It's very sweet," I commented.

"Yes, but it doesn't come with a marshmallow," he said, frowning.

"I thought that was part of the deal," I said, recounting what Edward had said when he had come to my house yesterday afternoon.

"So did I," He agreed. We continued sipping at our hot chocolates and looked at each other in the eyes. It was peaceful in the canteen, something that happened only rarely. All of a sudden, Edward looked at the ground and fake coughed.

"What?" I asked him. He looked at me in the eyes, but then I realised that he wasn't looking at me. Edward was looking past me, behind me. I heard footsteps then, coming towards me.

"Bella?" A familiar boys' voice asked. I heard this voice many times before, but I couldn't put a face to it. I turned around in my seat and saw Jonathan looking down at me.

"Yes Jonathan?" I asked him. So this was what Edward was bothered about, but why?

"I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the disco on Saturday." He looked at the ground, and blushed.

"What disco?" I asked him.

"There's a disco on Saturday. Everyone's been talking about it for the past week. We all think you're going together," Jonathan's eyes flickered between Edward and I. Edward chuckled slyly.

"No, I didn't even know there was a disco on this weekend," I tried to ignore Edward.

"So would you like to come with me?"

I took a deep breath and looked at Edward. He shrugged and looked away. "Jonathan. I'm not the disco type. I don't really like the doof-doof music they have and I can't dance. Sorry."

"Okay, I guess that's cool," Jonathan looked at the ground. I could tell he was upset.

"Maybe you should go with Josie though. She's been talking about you a lot lately," I suggested. I wanted to cheer up Jonathan, but not cheer him up in the way that I would be involved in dancing to loud music.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Jonathan had a smile on his face now. This was a good sign. "I like your advice, Bella. You're a great person to talk to. Thanks again," Jonathan said before turning around and running away to find Josephine.

"Let's see if anyone else asks you to the disco, hey?" Edward told me.

"Why would anyone else ask me to the disco? They all think that we're together."

"No, they don't think we're together. They're just jealous of me."

"Why would they be jealous of you? And how do you know that that's what they are? For all I know, it could be that they just wanted to annoy me; to make me upset."

"They're jealous that I spend my time with a beautiful person, a person that's beautiful on the inside and out. How do I know this? Don't I know everything?"

"Ha ha," I was not used to using sarcasm, but these days, I needed it a lot.

"It's true," He raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"The bell's going to ring anytime now." A few seconds later, the bell for second period rang. I rose out of my seat, grabbed my empty cup and made my way to the exit of the canteen.

"By the way, this hot chocolate tasted like dirt compared to the one you made me." Edward's crooked smiles made me feel happy. "So, would you like to join me for lunch?"

"Yes," I answered as I threw my empty cup into the rubbish bin on the way to my second class. Second period was quite boring, apart from the fact that Josephine was in my class. She wasn't the talkative type, yet today she had a lot to talk about.

"Guess what happened at morning tea, Bella?" She asked me, excitedly. There was a massive grin on her face; one that only appeared occasionally.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Jonathan asked me out to the disco! Isn't that brilliant?" She was nearly jumping out of her seat now.

"That's great, Josie!" I said. Jonathan had followed my advice.

"Who are you going with Bella?" Josie asked me.

"I'm not going," I answered.

"Why not?" She seemed disappointed.

"I'm going into the city on Saturday, to go shopping for all sorts of things. I can't dance either," I explained, shrugging. I needed to go shopping by myself, as I hadn't been for a while. I immediately thought that going on Saturday might be a good idea.

"Oh well, that's nice. Are you going with anyone?" She asked me.

"Jacob will probably take me into the city and drive me home, but I'll be shopping by myself."

"It's good to have an older brother to drive you around, isn't it?"

"Yes, but then again, I think it'd be nice to have my own car so that I could drive myself to school and around the place."

"I know what you mean. I have that dream all the time."

"Anyway, let's focus on our work," I said, not that I felt like working right now.

"Okay," Josie agreed. We worked for about twenty minutes until Josie turned to me and started talking to me again.

"So you're not upset that Jonathan's going with me to the disco?" She asked me.

"No, no at all. I'm glad for you that you're going together," I answered honestly.

"Oh, because Jonathan was a bit upset that you let him down-"

"Did he tell you that?" I interrupted, angrily.

"No, but I could tell."

"I was going to say!"

"I could tell that you'd let him down."

"Oh, right."

"Miss Carter, Miss Swan; concentrating please. This is your first warning, second warning and you'll receive detention at lunch," Mrs Walkers' voice boomed across the now silent classroom.

"Sorry," Josephine mouthed to me. I didn't want to cop a detention so I just smiled and shrugged. The rest of the lesson was quite slow. Next period was music - one of my favourite classes. Today we were singing Jazz, the best thing we've ever done in music. "The girl from Ipanema" was the first song we sung. I had no friends in my music class, which I was sometimes thankful for, as my singing wasn't exactly great. The time in Music seemed to just drift out the window, and lunchtime was soon here. I strolled towards my locker, my shoes were still full of water and the rain continued to fall. I unzipped the uniform pocket, reached into my pocket and grabbed my locker key. I turned the key in the lock and saw a little note resting on my pile of books. Its elegant writing read;

Meet me at the music class, Edward

I smiled at myself, but wondered how Edward managed to put this note in my locker. He must have passed it through the chicken wire in the door. I replaced the books I had just used for those classes with my books for my next classes, turned the key in the lock, placed the key into my pocket and went on my way to find Edward. I walked back to where I'd just come from; the corridors were full of people. They were sitting down, as there was nowhere to sit outside due to the wet weather. I finally reached the music class and I opened the door. There was Edward, his back to me, playing the piano. I didn't want to be rude and barge in the room, so I decided I'd knock. Edward turned to see me, smiled and went back to his piano playing. My hand gripped the door handle, pushed it down and placed my bag inside the room, beside the door. I walked towards him and stopped when I was just standing behind Edward. The music on the piano stand looked like an ant had accidentally walked in ink and then decided to wipe its feet on the page. Edward stopped his virtuoso playing and turned to face me.

"So, I see you got my note,"

"I did indeed, but what brings you here?"

"I thought we'd try something. Something different."

"Okay…"

"Something new," he said.

"Do I know it?" I asked him.

"Probably, but I guess you wouldn't know it very well." He smiled. His fingers started to caress the keys on the piano and a beautiful four bar intro sang out of the piano. It wasn't jazz, but it was something nice. I tried to match the introduction of the song to all the songs I knew. I wasn't sure if I had heard this song before. Edward stopped massaging the piano keys and he turned to face me, his eyes were still dark from the contact lenses.

"Ring a bell, yet?"

"Not at all," I answered, sitting on the other half of the piano stool beside him.

"Let's try again," he said. His fingers moved across the piano keys like magic. He looked like a professional; his fingers gliding across the keys, no music - it was all in his head. He replayed the four bar intro and begun to sing. "Living in my own world, didn't understand…"

I shook my head. This was the famous song that Troy and Gabriella from High School Musical sung when they first met at the New Year's party. This was very different to what I was used to listening to and there was absolutely no _way_ I was going to sing Gabriella's part in front of Edward.

"Oh come on Bella," Edward said. Could he read my mind?! "Just try it, please?" By now he had stopped playing and he gave me the puppy face. Man, could he do the puppy face!

"I can't sing, Edward," I told him, honestly. I lowered my head in disgust.

"I don't agree. I heard you singing in music class," I jerked my head up and looked him in the eyes.

"What? You heard me sing?" I asked him. I was angry now, and he was going to have to explain himself.

"Yes, I did. I was on my way to the bathroom," I just loved the way he said bathroom instead of toilet; such a gentleman, "when I heard your class singing. I had a peek in the window and scanned the class to see if there were any familiar faces. I saw you and you were really into it. 'Girl from Ipanema', wasn't it? Just…give it a try. Please Bella, for me?" His eyes looked at me; he really wanted to try this. I didn't want to hurt him by saying no but I didn't want to sing either. His white fingers went over the keys as he played the introduction once more.

"Living in my own world

didn't understand

that anything can happen

when you take a chance…" He looked at me, wanting to continue playing.

I closed my eyes. It was my way of concentrating.

"I never believed in

what I couldn't see

I never opened my heart…"

He smiled his crooked smile; my favourite smile. "Oohh."

"To all the possibilities…ooh" I continued to sing.

It felt like magic; singing with Edward Cullen was a once in a lifetime experience; a memory I would never forget.

"I know…" We sung together, our voices in perfect harmony.

"That something has changed…" His fingers continued to motion like a professional.

"Never felt this way…" He looked at me and smiled, again.

"And right here today…" I looked deep into his eyes as I sang.

"This could be the start

of something new

it feels so right to be here with you…ooh," We sang together. It felt like this was meant to be for us, like we supposed to be the Gabriella and Troy.

"And now, looking in your eyes

I feel in my heart…" The lyrics were perfect.

"Feel in my heart..." Edward chorused.

We sung together now, "The start of something new…"

**I know, I know! Kinda corny, isn't it? It's just a filler for the following chapters... :)**


	6. Chapter 5 Angel

**Hey there, readers :) Sorry I haven't been updating for ages, I'm sure the anticipation of what-happens-next has been killing you... LOL jks :P Just another fanfic story!**

**Finally finished my second last year of schooling! Whoopee! The year has been so intense! Now two months of holidays! :D Which means more updating... actually, isn't it about time I got a job? I think so. :\**

**I have a few more ideas up my sleeve... written some down, started some too actually, but I don't want to get started with those when I can't get around to even updating this one, if you know what I mean. **

**Anyhoozles... here is Chapter 5! **

**Happy reading :) ... I hope..**

**Chapter Five - Angel**

**EPOV**

"I can't sing, Edward," Her beautiful voice told me. Bella looked down, like she was embarrassed to say this; like I was going to chuck a hissy fit; like she was scared of me.

"I don't agree. I heard you singing in music class," _And you have the most beautiful voice I've ever heard._ There was only so much I could tell her.

"What? You heard me sing?" She was angry, but I wasn't going to give up just yet.

"Yes, I did. I was on my way to the bathroom when I heard your class singing. I had a peek in the window and scanned the class to see if there were any familiar faces. I saw you and you were really into it. 'Girl from Ipanema', wasn't it? Just…give it a try. Please Bella, for me?" I looked at her and began to play the song again, hoping she would oblige to sing along.

"Living in my own world

didn't understand

that anything can happen

when you take a chance…" I looked at her. She had the most beautiful face I've ever seen. I sung the best I've ever sung so that she would be impressed and sing her best too, yet I was sure her worst wouldn't be awful anyway.

She closed her eyes, like she was about to fall asleep. I continued playing, hoping she would open her heart and let out her angelic voice once again.

"I never believed in

what I couldn't see

I never opened my heart…"

I smiled. I felt so lucky, to be singing with Bella, by myself, in a room with just us in it…and the piano. "Oohh." I added.

"To all the possibilities…ooh" Her stunning voice continued. For some reason, I felt like she was comforting me. It reminded me of my mother, when she used to sing to me before I went to sleep every night.

"I know…" Our voices blended together perfectly.

"That something has changed…" I did know that something had changed. Funny how the lyrics suited us!

"Never felt this way…" I smiled. Bella's voice was…too good for words.

"And right here today…" I couldn't get over her perfection.

"This could be the start

of something new

it feels so right to be here with you…ooh," Maybe, we were supposed to be Troy and Gabriella in High School Musical. Maybe they chose the wrong actors. I wondered what Bella was thinking.

"And now, looking in your eyes

I feel in my heart…" Wow. She really knew how to sing in a duet.

"Feel in my heart..." I added, after her.

We gazed at each other in the eyes. These eyes were something I would never get used to, they would take my breath away every time. But this was only the beginning, "The start of something new…" I stopped playing the piano and just continued looking at her. She was beautiful, a creature only a man with good imagination could dream of. Yet here she was, singing by my side, with the most gorgeous smile, the most gorgeous voice, the most gorgeous… EVERYTHING! I felt so special. Her eyes reminded me of my mother's, the way she used to look at me when she held me tightly in her arms. Bella's smile was so perfect, like a string of the whitest pearls you had ever seen.

Bella looked at me, thinking about something. My chest was heaving; I was trying to catch my breath after singing with the most beautiful person in the world. She noticed, looked down, and blushed a crimson red. What a magnificent angel she was. Even her blush was perfect! How nice it would be to rest my face on her cheeks while she blushed, I wondered. I would feel her blood slithering under her skin. I knew I shouldn't be thinking this, but I couldn't help it. She was stunning.

"Well, that was…" She couldn't exactly find the right word for it, so I thought I'd help her out.

"Extraordinary." I couldn't take my eyes off her. She smiled and looked at me.

"I was going to say something more like... corny... baby-ish...embarassing..."

"I thought you didn't like pop," I added sarcastically.

"I don't, really," She smiled.

"With one exception," I continued.

"Maybe," She smiled, "If you're lucky." I was already lucky, no doubt about that! My first day here was my lucky day, let alone every minute I spent with Bella.

"So, are you hungry now?" I asked her, deciding to change the subject.

"Absolutely," She answered enthusiastically, as she stood up and walked towards her bag.

"Where would you like to go?" I asked her.

"Maybe we could go somewhere near the K block," She suggested.

"Okay," I agreed as I followed her out the door. As long as _we_ were going somewhere together, I was happy. "It's protected from the bad weather, isn't it?"

"Yes Edward," She laughed. The way she said my name was priceless. The typical Aussies would say my name differently, but Bella Swan used articulation when she said my name. Something I felt proud of.

I quickly followed her out into the corridor. It was packed with teenagers and the minute we walked out of the music room, they all turned and looked at us. I felt pressured. Why did they all have to stare like that? Sure, I knew they were all jealous of me, being with Bella all the time, but they really didn't need to go that far. I felt bad for lying to Bella earlier, but I didn't want to make her feel even lower. She was beautiful on the outside and on the inside, like I had told her earlier. It did get on my nerves though; all the people looking at _us_. Maybe I had something on my face that made them all stare the way they did? I didn't know and I probably never would.

Bella led me to the canteen first. There were people everywhere, yet they couldn't really go outside. She ordered a chicken sandwich, and I ordered a vegetable soup. We didn't talk to each other until we arrived at this little seat outside, against the K block. It was protected from the wind and rain. There was no one in sight, just the two of us. Bella sat down on the seat and opened up her sandwich. I sat beside her and placed my bag on the floor beside me.

"I forgot to ask, is this spot okay?" She asked me ever so kindly.

"Yes, it's perfect," I smiled at her. Every time I smiled, she blushed and looked away.

"So…" Bella tried to start the conversation.

"So?" I begged her to continue. She laughed and took a bite of her sandwich.

"What?" I asked, laughing along with her. It was so easy to have fun with Bella. She shook her head and continued munching. "You look like a chipmunk," I added. She punched me playfully on the shoulder as she continued laughing with her mouth full. I pulled the lid off my soup cup and took a sip of the warm drink. It made its way down my throat and made me shiver from the warmth.

"You like a dog that's just had a bath," Bella laughed. Wow, Bella just paid me out!

"Thanks, it was nice meeting you," I jokingly added as I acted as if I was going to walk away. Bella looked at me.

"I didn't mean it like that," She apologetically explained.

"I know," I said, cheekily.

"Good," Bella nodded. She didn't want me to leave; that was obvious. But I still didn't understand what she meant by the fact that I looked like a dog that's just had a bath.

"How do I look like a wet dog?" I asked.

"You shivered and your hair is wet," Bella giggled. She had the sweetest giggle I had ever heard. I brushed my hair with my fingers; it was wet. I shook the water out of my hair.

"Is that better?" I asked her.

"It was good before, but it's just as nice like that," She replied honestly and looked away. Why did she have to be so perfect? I was so jealous of her beauty. Bella continued eating her sandwich and I continued drinking my soup. The silence that surrounded us was peaceful; I could think…of the goddess sitting beside me. How could I tell Bella her voice was angelic? Would she argue? Would she walk away? Would that infectious blush take over her face again? There was only one way to find out.

"Bella, I just have to let you know this…" I began, but was _rudely_ interrupted…

"What? My voice is like sandpaper?" She turned to look at me. She was hurt, only she was hurting herself.

Damn. Why was she always so stubborn? "No. Actually I was going to say the complete opposite. You've got a beautiful voice," I smiled and she smiled back. I was right; the blush came back once again.

BPOV

"Bella, I just have to let you know this…" I knew what he was going to say, so I thought I'd say it so that he wouldn't feel bad saying it himself.

"What? My voice is like sandpaper?" I looked at him. His stunning eyes held mine for a second.

"No. Actually I was going to say the complete opposite. You've got a beautiful voice," I couldn't believe it. Here was Edward Cullen complimenting the girl with the worst voice in the universe. This wasn't right. Before I had time to argue back, he smiled the one-and-only crooked smile and I just blushed. Why did I have to make it so obvious?

My next class was French. I liked French, yet my teacher was very hard to understand. He was appalling at speaking English and you could only understand what he was trying to say half of the time we spent talking to him. Like most of my other classes, I was 'number one loner' in French; I sat by myself, did group assignments alone, etc.

The textbook in front of me looked like a jumble of words put together. I couldn't be bothered reading it, and I nearly fell asleep… twice. Why did time have to pass so slowly when I wasn't spending it with Edward? It was only the Cullen family's second day today, yet we seemed so close already. It was very bizarre, like a fairytale. They were very nice, and they felt like we've been friends for years. My mum always said that that's what best friends felt like; when you first meet, it feels like you've been friends for years already. Maybe Edward and I would become best friends. A part of me wished for that, yet the other part dreaded it.

"Bella? Give us the answer please," Mr Faucout interrupted my dreams. I looked up at him. The class was dead silent.

"Um, pardon?" I looked around at my classmates. They were all staring at me.

"Tu sais pas?" Mr Faucout asked me in French.

"Non. Sorry," I felt like a moron.

"Not inpest," Mr Faucout raised his eyebrows and frowned. I knew he meant he was not impressed.

"Sorry, monsieur," I didn't know what else to say.

"Hmm," He looked at me and quickly moved onto something else. I put my face in my hands. A ball hit me softly in the shoulder. I looked to the ground, in search of the object. There it was; a paper ball, about ten centimetres away from my right foot. It was a note, I was sure of that. I didn't want to be caught retrieving it so I just left it there, alone on the carpet floor. Mr Faucout was still going on about something, so I thought I'd better pay attention, in case he asked me another doomed question.

Another paper ball landed on the right of my desk. I secretly inched my fingers toward the ball and opened it up. It read:

Thinking of Cullen, weren't you Bella? :)

Luv Angel

I knew instantly that this was from Angelina Gold; her handwriting, her jealousy and she always signed 'Angel'. I turned around to look at her. She always sat at the back of the classroom. I gave her a death stare and aimed the note for the rubbish bin. Knowing me, my shot would most likely miss. As per usual, it did, and I found myself in after school detention with Mr Faucout.

"How many more lines, Monsieur Faucout?" I asked him, eyeing my punishment. The piece of paper was covered in my rushed handwriting.

"That's it, Bella," Mr Faucout smiled at me. "I was dishapointment today Bella. You good student, do not spend time thinking 'bout boys," He told me pointing his finger in my face.

"How do you know that's what I was thinking about?" What was this? How could he judge me like that? He reminded me of Charlie.

"I read note," He told me. He was proud, and I was shocked. So what, he picked the note off the floor and read it? What an…

"You go home, Bella," Mr Faucout told me. I looked at my watch: 3.30pm. Half an hour after school finished. This was ridiculous.

"I think I will," I mumbled under my breath. I grabbed my skateboard and turned to walk away.

"Bella, you forgot something…or do you want detention tomorrow too?" Mr Faucout asked me from behind. He was cheeky and I felt like ripping his head off. But I couldn't do that.

"Au revoir," I responded sarcastically, without looking back. I jumped on my skateboard that Jacob had dropped off earlier and skated away.

The rain was still drizzling lightly as I made my way home. I skated to the red diner situated on the main road. 'Chickadees' was where all the cool kids on the block hung out. Of course, I was always the odd one out, but I didn't care. My aunt used to own it, but now, some other people ran it. They still gave me discounts, as I was a regular.

I ordered a bucket of chips with gravy and a tea: weird combination. I sat on the couch while I waited for my afternoon tea to arrive. I looked out the window beside me. The rain was still drizzling now, but there was a crowd of teenagers walking towards the entrance. There was a couple, surrounded by television cameramen and fans holding posters. The couple walked in the door of 'Chickadees' and the crowd followed.

"Hey! Get out!" Meggy, the owner of 'Chickadees' shooed away the crowd. The couple looked around for a place to sit. The male was tall, and very muscular. He was wearing a singlet to show his biceps. Show off, I thought. His girlfriend was blonde and stunning. She could have been a model for all I knew. She wore a red cardigan and a pair of jeans. Designer clothes, I thought. I looked down to see what type of shoes she was wearing. High heels. What a silly thing to wear in the rain. They must have been around 18 years old, both of them. But what made the crowd and the reporters go after them, I wondered. What was so special about them? The guy looked at all the individual tables and then laid his eyes on me.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" He asked me. He had quite a deep voice.

"No," I replied. He sat down on the couch opposite me and pulled his girlfriend by the hand to sit by his side. She looked at me in disgust and continued to talk to him. I pulled out my mp3 player out of my pocket and turned it up, so that I wouldn't hear their conversation.

"Chips with gravy and a tea?" Meggy asked me. She was standing next to the table, my order in her arms. I paused the song.

"Right here, thanks Meggy," I looked up at her and she placed my order in front of me.

"Charlie'd better be feeding you good food, Bella. You come here too often," She told me. She sounded so much like my mum, the mum I didn't have. The mum that died in a car crash six years ago.

"Meggy, I'm the one who's feeding Charlie," I explained.

"Well, I hope its good food you're making. Nice and healthy for your young body," She said as she turned to walk away.

I looked up at the couple sitting in front of me. The girl was looking at me, her mouth wide open in shock, and the male just sat there, looking out the window.

"How can you eat so many calories?" She asked me. She had a slight British accent.

"I don't really count how many calories I eat. I just eat the foods I like to eat," I told her, her shocked look wanted to make me burst out laughing.

"Honey, can we go elsewhere?" She turned to her boyfriend.

"Why? What's wrong with here?" He asked her.

"I can't stand looking at that pile of calories in front of that girl. It's making me feel sick," She stroked his muscly arm and he looked at me.

"Hey, chick, can I have a chip?" He asked me, a smile on his face.

"Are you kidding?" I looked at him. He was just joking, right?

"What are you doing? What happened to your diet?" His girlfriend asked him.

"Oh, yeah. Nearly forgot about that," He said, looking away from the bowl of chips in front of me. I picked up my mp3 player from my hand and pressed play. I'd had enough of their silly talk. I quickly shovelled down a few chips and drunk my tea. I got up, pulled my favourite grey hoodie cardigan out of my bag, and put it on over my school uniform.

"Oh, okay. See you later, chick," The guy said. I pushed the bowl with the remainder of chips across the table towards him.

"Geez, thanks!" He smiled up at me and his girlfriend gave me the death stare. I turned and walked away.

"See you Bella! Say hi to Jacob for me!" Susan, one of the waitresses from 'Chickadees', said as I headed towards the door. She was friendly, and fond of Jacob. But that didn't bother me, as Susan and I were good friends.

"I will!" I yelled back as I walked out into the rain. I jumped on my skateboard and skated home. I didn't mind skating home in the rain. The only thing that bothered me was when cars would drive in a puddle too close to the gutter that I was skating beside, and the water would just spray onto me.

Charlies' cruiser wasn't parked in the driveway, yet Jacob's car was. Diesel came to greet me at the door when I arrived at home. I was dripping wet, and I could hear Jacob on the phone. I took my soaking shoes off and walked towards the stairs.

"Why don't we go to the beach in Manly?" Jacob asked the person on the other end. "Yeah…okay…I'll come and pick you up at nine thirty on Saturday," He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled something down. "Okay, see you then Jasper," He said before hanging up.

"So, you're going to Manly with Jasper on Saturday. At nine thirty am," I said, getting the info my head.

"Is that all right, Bella?" Jacob asked me. He was sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Yeah, I guess. I was wondering if I could come with you."

He turned to look at me. "You, want to go to the beach?" He asked, surprised.

"No, I was wondering if you could drive me into the city on your way."

"What are you going to do in the city?"

"Shop."

"Shop? You? Shop?"

"Yes, Jacob. I haven't been shopping alone for a while."

"And what are you going shopping for?"

"New clothes, Christmas presents…"

"Okay."

"So, you'll take me into the city?"

"Yes."

"Thank-you Jacob!"

"It's okay Bella. As long as you get me a Christmas present."

"Have I ever forgotten you?"

"No…I don't think so…"

"By the way, your fan club says hi."

"You mean Susan?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Welcome," I said as I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. I closed the door behind me, dumped my bag on the floor and plugged my iPod into its speakers. I listened to a jazz number, while changing into a fresh, dry pair of clothes. I was singing along to a song when I heard a tap on the door.

"Come in!" I yelled, turning my music down. It was Jacob. What did he want now?

"Bella, Dad just called. He's on his way home and he was wondering if you wanted to eat Chinese for dinner." Jacob had his hand on the doorknob and he was leaning on the inside of the doorway.

Chinese? That sounded nice! "Yes please!"

"And I forgot to tell you before; Josephine called while you were at school. She wants you to call her back."

"What was it regarding?"

"Lunch time?"

"Oh, right." She wanted to know how I spent my lunchtime. Maybe she had something to tell me about Jonathan, too.

"Okay, that's all," said Jacob as he turned to walk out. I followed him out the room and down the stairs. Jacob walked back to the couch and I walked to get the telephone. I dialled Josephine's number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" It was Josie's mum Heather.

"Hi Heather, it's Bella," I spoke to Heather like I would to my own mother. She and I were pretty close, as Josephine and I were like sisters.

"Bella! How have you been? I haven't spoken to you for a while! So what's cooking, good looking?" She asked me. Heather always made me laugh. She was a bubbly woman with lots of energy and a loving personality.

"Nothing much, actually. Mr Faucout gave me a detention this afternoon so I had to stay at school until 3.30. Then I had to skate home, in the rain."

"That's not very good! Wasn't Jacob there to pick you up?"

"Jacob was here sitting on the couch watching TV. He couldn't be _bothered_ to get off his _ass_ to come and pick me up," I said loudly so that Jacob would hear.

"Oh Bella. Anyway, you're ringing to talk to Josie, aren't you? Well, she's here beside me waiting for the phone. I'll pass you onto her."

"Okay, thanks Heather. Speak to you soon."

"Yes, Bella. Love you!" She said before passing the phone to Josie.

"Ok, so what happened? Tell me everything!" Josie exclaimed. I wanted to tell her, but I couldn't talk about Edward in front of Jacob.

"Oh, right. Well, we have to do page three hundred and eighty-one to page three hundred and eighty-four; letters a, b, c and f for every question." I made up as I walked up the stairs and into my room.

"What are you talking about?" A confused Josie asked me.

"Yeah, we have to do that too. Thanks for reminding me," I continued as I shut my bedroom door behind me.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh. Was Jacob or Charlie listening?"

"Yes."

"Right!"

"Can I tell you tomorrow? It feels like Jacob's behind the door eavesdropping."

"Sure! I'll meet you at the library at eight am, alone."

"I'll be there. Alone."

"Okay. Thanks for the homework," She added sarcastically.

"You're welcome! Speak to you tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." I pressed the little phone button to end the call. I walked of my room, down the stairs and put the phone back into its recharger. I walked towards Jacob. He was watching Australian Idol.

"I like that dude, he's cool. He should win," He said as a guy was singing on stage. The audience went wild once he'd finished. "You got any homework?" He looked up at me.

"That's something Charlie would ask, not you."

Jacob just shrugged and went back to watching the loud commercials. I took the opportunity to go and have my shower.

The hot water ran down my face. It made me relax, and calm down. My heart was still beating quickly as the memory of lunchtime filled my mind. The water crept down my shoulders and onto my body. I lathered the shampoo in my hair, rinsed it out and hopped out of the shower. Sometimes, I could spend twelve minutes in the shower just absorbing all of its warmth and the ability to calm me down. But today was no day to dawdle; I had lots of things to do and no time to waste.

I quickly got changed into a pair of shorts and a light T-shirt. My body still felt hot from the shower. My schoolbag was lying on the floor, so I decided to start my boring afternoon with French homework. The time seemed to go so slowly when it wasn't spent with Edward. Why did I keep going back to Edward? Ok, he was perfect. And he was beautiful. He was what every teenage girl dreamed about at the moment - every teenage girl excluding me. I hadn't caught the Edward dream bug yet - touch wood. But somehow, I knew that I probably wouldn't last for long.

I stood up on my toes and reached for my mums' legendary cooking book. I remember the time when I was ten and found her writing in the cookbook secretly. I walked through the door, unexpectedly, and she quickly tried to hide the book. I insisted she showed me what she was working on.

"Bella, I will give it to you for Christmas," she told me.

"But it won't be a surprise! Please just show me now," I begged. She scooped me up in her warm arms and took me to the living room. She laid me on the couch carefully and sat beside me.

"This is a book of the recipes that were given to me by my mother and her mother. I will give it to you for Christmas," She explained.

"Why are you giving it to me?" I asked her, surprised.

"So that you can keep it. You can pass it down to your kids, when you're older," She explained. She kissed my forehead and walked back into the kitchen, the recipe book in her hand.

The Christmas came, but mum wasn't there to give me the recipe book - it lay still underneath the Christmas tree. Suddenly, this cookbook meant so much to me. I was not really into cooking, but the cookbook was like a job that mum gave me before she was killed.

A job that I would continue until the day I left.

Until I left Charlie.

I flipped through the first few pages, until I got to the dessert section. Fudge Pudding- that sounded nice. I reached into the cupboard and grabbed the flour, cocoa powder and vanilla essence. The recipe was quite easy and I plugged myself into my iPod as I went. I was about to put the pudding into the oven, when Jacob suddenly got off the couch and rushed to the door.

"Dad's home!" He yelled. I pulled my earplugs out of my ears and began to set the table.

"Hi Bells," Charlie walked into the door in his officer uniform. He was holding a plastic bag that contained the Chinese takeaway that Jacob was after.

"Let me take care of that, Chief Swan," Jacob mocked, helping Charlie with the bag of food.

"It's okay, son. Go and help Bells set the table," Charlie winked at me. I smiled in return.

Jacob looked at me and started running in my direction. He grabbed the bowls from my hands and placed them on the table.

"How was your day, Bella?" Charlie asked me as he helped to set the table also.

"Good…" I said remembering the time I spent with Edward, "and bad," I added, the note that Angelina threw at me made me want to rip her head off. Usually, I was never this violent. But I just felt uncomfortable the way I was picked at.

"Like usual," He mumbled under his breath.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him all about Edward; the way he had complimented me on my hot chocolate, his beautiful eyes looking deeply into mine, his angelic voice when he sung with me, the time we sat down on the bench outside the K block…everything. But some things were just better left unsaid. He would probably find out in the long run, and I'd probably end up telling him one day.

By mistake.

Or not.


End file.
